Holder For a Component of an Exhaust Gas System

ABSTRACT

A bracket for a component of an exhaust-gas system includes a fastening portion which serves for being fastened to a motor, and at least one connection portion which serves for a connection with the component, is characterized in that a reinforcing element is arranged on the fastening portion.

The invention relates to a bracket for a component of an exhaust-gas system, comprising a fastening portion which serves for being fastened on the side of the engine, and at least one connecting portion which serves for a connection with the component.

The bracket is used in particular for supporting a preliminary catalytic converter in the motor vehicle, for instance on a gearbox. As only a very small space is available in the engine bay, the bracket has to be compact without the strength suffering from this. These contradictive demands have not always been satisfactorily met by the known brackets. Basically, one could consider to realize the material thickness of the entire bracket such that a sufficient strength will arise in all areas. This, however, would result in that the material thickness in those areas which have to take up a somewhat smaller load, in particular in the connecting portions, is much higher than actually needed. Thus, the bracket would have an unnecessarily high weight. Basically, one could also think about the possibility to stiffen the fastening portion by beads or the like. If, however, the desired strength is to be reached in this way, the installation height of the bracket would strongly increase in the area of the fastening portion. This is disadvantageous with regard to the restricted space conditions in the engine bay.

It is the object of the invention to further develop a bracket of the type initially mentioned to the effect that it has a high strength despite of small dimensions and a low weight.

In order to solve this problem, provision is made according to the invention that a reinforcement element is arranged on the fastening portion. The invention is based on the fundamental idea to reinforce the bracket only in the area which serves for being fastened to the vehicle. In this way one obtains a particularly advantageous trade-off between high strength, compact design and low weight.

It is preferably provided for that the fastening portion and the reinforcement element are planar. Thus, a double-walled fastening portion is achieved which has a very high strength together with a low overall thickness.

The reinforcement element is preferably connected with the fastening portion, in particular is soldered or glued to it. On the one hand, assembly is facilitated, as only one component has to be handled. On the other hand, a higher stiffness will be achieved, because the flexural rigidity of two components fastened to each other is higher than that of two components which only are loosely superimposed.

Advantageous designs of the invention will be apparent from the sub-claims.

The invention will now be explained on the basis of a preferred embodiment which is illustrated in the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a bracket in a side view;

FIG. 2 shows the bracket of FIG. 1 in a rear view;

FIG. 3 shows the bracket of FIG. 1 in a top view;

FIG. 4 shows the bracket of FIG. 1 in a further side view; and

FIG. 5 shows a section along the plane V-V of FIG. 3.

The Figures show a bracket 10 which has a planar fastening portion 12 and two connecting portions 14 which are arranged on the one and the other side of the fastening portion 12. The fastening portion 12 serves for firmly attaching the bracket to a motor, for instance to a gearbox in the engine bay, and is provided with two openings 16 for fastening screws. The connecting portions 14 serve for attaching the bracket to a component, to be supported, of an exhaust-gas system, for instance to a preliminary catalytic converter, and are each provided with a contact surface 18 whose curvature is adapted to the profile of the outer surface of the component. The connecting portions 18 are preferably welded to the housing of the component.

The bracket 10 is made of sheet metal which has been stamped out with an appropriate shape and then bent. For stiffening the connecting portions 14, one bead 20 each is provided.

Arranged on the fastening portion 12 is a reinforcement element 22 which likewise is a stamped sheet metal part. The reinforcement element 22 is designed so as to be planar, in the same manner like the fastening portion 12, so that it can rest at the fastening portion 12 in a planar fashion. For increasing the stiffness, the reinforcement element 22 is soldered with the fastening portion 12 (see the soldering layer 24 in FIG. 5). As an alternative, the reinforcement element 22 could be glued onto the fastening portion 12.

The reinforcement element 22 has openings 16, too. These are arranged so as to be congruent with the openings in the fastening portion 12. The width of the reinforcement element 22 is slightly smaller than the width of the fastening portion 12, so that the latter slightly projects in lateral direction. For reasons of weight and installation space, both the fastening portion 12 and the reinforcement element 22 are designed so as to be narrowed down between the two openings 16. The narrow end portions of the reinforcement element 22 which face the beads 20 are each formed like a fork so that the reinforcement element overlaps with the beads laterally. This enhances the strength, too. 

1.-9. (canceled)
 10. A bracket for a component of an exhaust-gas system, comprising: a fastening portion configured to be fastened on the side of the engine, at least one connecting portion configured to connect with the component, and a reinforcing element arranged on the fastening portion.
 11. The bracket according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcing element is a sheet metal part.
 12. The bracket according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcing element and the fastening portion are provided with at least one opening for fastening screws.
 13. The bracket according to claim 10, wherein the fastening portion is planar.
 14. The bracket according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcing element is planar.
 15. The bracket according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcing element is connected to the fastening portion.
 16. The bracket according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcing element is soldered to the fastening portion.
 17. The bracket according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcing element is glued to the fastening portion.
 18. The bracket according to claim 10, wherein one connecting portion is arranged on each side of the fastening portion. 